{"id":20836,"date":"2024-05-15T00:10:37","date_gmt":"2024-05-15T06:10:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=20836"},"modified":"2024-05-13T16:25:35","modified_gmt":"2024-05-13T22:25:35","slug":"meeting-the-students-where-they-are-syringa-mountain-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/15\/meeting-the-students-where-they-are-syringa-mountain-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Meeting the Students Where They Are \u2013 Syringa Mountain School"},"content":{"rendered":"

By MIKE MCKENNA<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Shawn Myers wasn\u2019t exactly sure what to expect when she started teaching at Syringa Mountain School in Hailey. She had never taught at a Waldorf-inspired school during her decade-long teaching career.
\nShawn\u2019s two sons had gone through the traditional Blaine County school system, just like she had. So stepping into the exceptionally large classroom at the south-Valley charter school was a new experience. But it didn\u2019t take long for Shawn to realize she\u2019d made a good decision.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s definitely not a traditional school, but once you get into it, it all makes sense,\u201d Shawn said. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine not teaching this way now.\u201d
\nSyringa Mountain School opened in 2014 as a local public school choice. Offering classes in kindergarten through eighth grade, the school is free for Blaine County residents. Most Syringa students will actually complete their education by graduating from Blaine County School District\u2019s Wood River High School.
\nWhat separates Syringa Mountain School\u2019s program from a more traditional model is that it focuses on a liberal arts and arts-integrated, experiential-learning style that is guided by the core principles of the Waldorf educational philosophy. This is done while still adhering to Idaho educational standards. The goal is to create a supportive community of peers, parents and teachers so that each child is a confident, self-directed and engaged learner who is invested in his\/her own education.
\nBased on the theories of Austrian scientist Rudolph Steiner, there are more than 160 Waldorf-inspired schools scattered throughout the country and no two are exactly alike. One of the things that makes Syringa unique is its access to the natural splendors of the Wood River Valley. The rivers, mountains and trails that abound here are ideal platforms for movement-based, outdoor-focused education.
\n\u201cIn every lesson we are inclusive of the head, the heart and the hands,\u201d Shawn said. \u201cThe more they care about something, the more they\u2019ll care for it.\u201d
\nThe motto for Syringa is \u201cCultivating curious and passionate learners prepared to build a life with purpose.\u201d
\nThe school accomplishes this goal by accepting that every student is unique and has different skills, needs and challenges. The strength of the school is that it can adapt to fit each student.
\n\u201cWe meet the kids where they\u2019re at and support students in the ways they need. Each kid is different and they\u2019re not just a number in our classrooms,\u201d said Christi Thompson, Syringa\u2019s charter administrator and Special Education director.
\nMichelle Harris is president of the Parent Council. When she first visited the school as an option for her young son, she was \u201cfloored by the kindergarten room. It didn\u2019t look anything like a typical classroom.\u201d The large, spacious classroom allows plenty of room to move and is the typical setup for each grade. It\u2019s one of the reasons why Michelle highly recommends Syringa.
\n\u201cMore than anything, as a parent, I\u2019m most pleased with how much my child is learning and that he is learning to love to learn,\u201d Michelle said, adding, \u201cHe\u2019s positively supported in areas where he struggles and challenged in areas where he thrives. He loves coming to school every day.\u201d
\nFind out more at SyringaMountainSchool.org.<\/p>\n

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By MIKE MCKENNA Shawn Myers wasn\u2019t exactly sure what to expect when she started teaching at Syringa Mountain School in Hailey. She had never taught at a Waldorf-inspired school during her decade-long teaching career. Shawn\u2019s two sons had gone through the traditional Blaine County school system, just like she had. So stepping into the exceptionally […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,38],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20836","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chamber-corner","8":"category-sponsored"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20836"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20836\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20838,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20836\/revisions\/20838"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}